When the President speaks, when NGOs get worried, when petitions start getting drafted it is an indication that something is amiss. This time around, it concerns 33 failed Malian asylum seekers who went to the police headquarters for their regular renewal of papers last month and ended up locked up at the Safi detention centre in what has been described as squalid conditions.
The Home Affairs Ministry had said at the time the police had detailed the Malians “as part of their routine work”, even though it went on to admit they had been in Malta irregularly for years. One of the detained was immediately released after he was found to enjoy temporary humanitarian protection.
What instigated the sudden move appears to have been a European joint initiative that was to see the arrival of an “African delegation” to identify the Malians with a view to deporting them home. A delegation did arrive and, on Christmas Eve, the ministry said 15 immigrants had been released because they were not successfully identified. It also said nine were still in custody but no explanation was given as to how 33 had actually dwindled to nine. One is known to have been released following a court judgment.
Speaking at a political activity, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said the country had to show it was ready to deport anyone caught on the island illegally. Malta has barely received any irregular migrants by boat for the past two years and, still, a recent Eurobarometer survey found that half of the respondents mentioned immigration as one of the major problems facing the island. This may explain the government’s strongman tactics.
Children’s Commissioner Pauline Miceli said migrant families who settled and integrated should be allowed to acquire Maltese citizenship but the Home Affairs Minister argued that a policy not to deport families would send the wrong message to potential asylum seekers.
In her Republic Day speech, the President said Malta should continue to host all those living on the island “with the utmost love and respect”, adding she was morally convinced the country should not condemn people helping to build its prosperity by sending them back.
And, yet, the Home Affairs Ministry is adamant to see the Malians go.
Legal and proper as everything may seem, the country must never forget it is dealing with human lives, with people who have lived here for years and may see Malta as their home. It is ironic that this Malian misadventure had to take place around Christmas, when words like solidarity are flung all around. The last remaining Malians in custody have taken their case to court.
This deportation plan has effectively failed, just like the pushback policy that came before it. Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela is not coming across as much different from his predecessor, Manuel Mallia, even though his style is different. More of this is expected next year when the temporary protection that has been granted to failed asylum seekers for years is planned to be withdrawn.
To persist with the deportation of the remaining Malians comes across as insensitive and inhuman and smacks of populism of the worst kind.
Malta does not have a problem with irregular immigrants. It has an obsession with dark-skinned people. The government’s priority should be to quell public fears and not launch half-baked deportation schemes that fail or disintegrate.
The government repeatedly boasts of success in its ultra-liberal policies on gay issues but has failed terribly in the equally liberal integration of immigrants, who have no vote.